


A Friend in Need

by cindyls1969



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Coming Out, GSA, M/M, Pride
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 17:41:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15078308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cindyls1969/pseuds/cindyls1969
Summary: Peter needs a favor from Captain America so he goes to see Steve and Bucky.





	A Friend in Need

**Author's Note:**

> Something silly and sweet, totally written in about 20 minutes and not beta'd at all.

A knock at the door woke Steve and Bucky from their afternoon nap. Maybe it was a little self-indulgent, but Bucky had only been back from wherever he'd disappeared to after the snap for a couple of weeks and so Steve was inclined to indulge him when he just wanted to snuggle on the couch and watch movies all day. "I'll get it Buck. Just relax." Steve tucked a lock of hair back behind Bucky's ear and kissed him on the forehead before getting up and opening the door. 

"Peter, hey!" He reached out and gave the kid a hug. "What's up?"

"Hey Steve." Peter rubbed his neck and looked everywhere but at Steve. It was a nervous habit that Steve had noticed lately. "Can I come in and talk to you for a minute?"

Steve stepped back. "Sure thing kiddo. Bucky's in the living room."

Peter nodded and walked in. Steve gave him a friendly shove down the hall and shut the door before following him. When they got to the living room, Bucky was sitting up and when he spotted Peter he smiled. "Hey kid, how's the homework coming? Get caught up yet?" 

Peter shook his head and sat down. "Not quite, but the teachers are taking it easy on everyone right now. I'll get it done."

"Of course you will." Steve sat down beside Buck on the couch. "So, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?"

"Well, I kinda have a favor to ask...Captain America." He sighed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. Sitting still wasn't Peter's best thing. "You know all those public service announcements you did? The ones for the schools? I was hoping you could do one more."

Steve grimaced. "Those are all kind of awful. Why do they need another one? Why are you asking and not the school board?" 

"Because its not the school board asking you, it's me. And if the school board finds out, they're probably gonna try and put a stop to it." The anger in Peter's voice caught Steve by surprise. 

"Now I'm curious. What is the PSA for?" What would make the school board mad?

Peter finally looked Steve in the eye. "I have this friend at school. His name is Jeff. He's a great kid and really nice and he's been really sad lately. He feels like he's not allowed to be himself because it will make is parents upset and he's not sure how his friends will take it."

Steve reached out and put his hand on Peter's knee. "Peter, I'm a little confused. What does any of this have to do with Captain America doing another PSA?"

"Jeff's gay. I know it doesn't matter, and you know it doesn't matter, but he's so scared and I keep trying to tell him that it's going to be okay and that he should just do what makes him happy but he's terrified. I belong to the GSA at school, and I was hoping you'd do a PSA for them."

Steve looked at Bucky who shrugged. "What's a GSA?"

"Oh, yeah. So the GSA is the gay/straight alliance. It's a group where everyone can get together and support each other. I joined as an ally to support some of the other kids and there's a big rally coming up next week for Pride. I was hoping you could say something to the kids. Some of them are really confident in who they are, but some, like Jeff, are still scared or ashamed and I was hoping that if you could tell them that it's okay to love who you love, and that you support them, then maybe it would be easier for them? There's a lot of parents who still look up to you and maybe if they could see that Captain America can have a boyfriend, then maybe they could give their kids some support too, instead of making it impossible for them." Peter's knees started jumping up and down, his nerves starting to get the best of him. "What do you think? I asked the school board to approach you but they were horrified I even suggested it. Apparently I was besmirching a national icon."

Steve looked at Bucky and Bucky nodded his head and grinned. Turning back to Peter, he smiled. "I know exactly what you mean kid. It's no problem. Just leave it with me. Let me know the day of the rally and I will make all the arrangements, with Pepper's help. I know just what needs to be done."

"Really? You'll do it? That's awesome!" He jumped up. "I can't wait to tell Jeff!" 

Steve chuckled. "Don't worry. I think Jeff is gonna love it!" 

"Thanks so much Steve. You have no idea how much this will mean to them." 

Steve looked at his boyfriend, the man he'd loved since he was 14 years old. "I might have some idea."

***one week later, Peter's high school's gym***

Peter sat nervously in the bleachers. The rally was supposed to be in the smaller meeting room but it had suddenly been moved and Peter was a little unsure of what had meant. He hadn't heard from Steve or Bucky since the weekend, but they had assured him that they were happy to be helping out the GSA and he had faith in them. He was just a little nervous, especially when most of the school started walking in along with a lot of parents. When Jeff's mom and dad walked in the door, his friend tensed beside him so Peter leaned into him and smiled when Jeff looked at him. "It's okay. I'm here for you, no matter what." 

Once everyone was settled, Mr. Beavers, the teacher who was in charge of the GSA walked to the front of the gym, beaming like he'd just won the lottery. As the big movie screen descended from the roof behind him, he started to speak. "Okay everyone, let's all pay attention. Now, I know you're probably curious as to what we're doing here today. Well, we have a couple of honorary members of the school's GSA who'd like to talk to you a bit and I won't keep you waiting. But first, I'd like you to take a look at this."

He walked to the side just as the room darkened and something started playing on the screen. Almost everyone groaned as the familiar figure of Captain America wandered into the screen with a chair, turning it around to sit on it backwards, his arms resting on the back of the chair. 

"So, you think you might be queer...well, I'm here to tell you that it's okay to be gay..." 

Bucky Barnes walked across the screen, all decked out in his new combat gear and stood behind Captain America, grinning widely. "And Captain America's smoking hot boyfriend thinks so too." 

The room was dead silent for 3 and a half seconds, just long enough for Peter to panic and then the world around him lost their minds. As he looked around, he could see the shock on a few of the parents faces, but for the most part, everyone was cheering. Beside him he could feel Jeff shaking and when he turned to look at him, he could see tears running down Jeff's face...and he was smiling ear to ear. 

When the noise rose to deafening standards, he looked to the front again as the lights came up and Steve and Bucky walked to the front of the room to stand in front of the microphone Mr. Beavers had left behind. They waited for a few minutes for the noise to quiet down before Steve started to speak. 

"Our friend Peter asked us to come and speak to you today. He was concerned for a friend and was looking for a way to show him that being gay was nothing to be ashamed of, and he thought that maybe if Buck and I were willing to stand here and talk to you and answer some questions then maybe his friend might start to understand that there's nothing wrong with him and that he should hold up his head with pride!" Steve nudged Bucky and Bucky slid off the jean jacket he was wearing and lifted the sleeve of his t-shirt to show off the rainbow that had been painted onto the shoulder of his metal arm. "Looks awesome doesn't it? Steve did it for me!"

Everyone cheered, well almost everyone and Steve motioned for quiet again. "We are going to stand here and answer your questions." He turned to look at the parents who were standing at the side of the gym. "And your parents questions and I hope that maybe Peter's friend will see that he's perfect, just the way he is. And Peter?" Steve looked over to where Peter was sitting. "If you'd like to bring your friend to talk to us afterward, we'd love to meet him."

Peter smiled but made sure he didn't look at Jeff. Coming out was his decision. "Thanks Cap, Mr. Barnes sir. I'll let you know." 

Bucky winked at him and then turned back to the crowd. "All right, let's get this show on the road." 

Peter let the rally go on around him, noise fading in the background as he found himself trying to swallow a lump in his throat. He did a lot of things as Spiderman to make the world a better place, but it felt good to just be Peter Parker today and that was something that didn't happen enough. 


End file.
